The present invention relates to chairs and, more particularly, to an adjustable arm assembly for a chair.
A wide variety of task chairs are presently available for the office environment. In an attempt to adapt the chair to the particular user and to the task involved, various adjustment mechanisms have been provided. The chairs may, for example, include vertically adjustable seat height mechanisms, swivel/tilt mechanisms and adjustable back height mechanisms. In addition, office chairs may be provided with arm assemblies. Many such chairs have a fixed width between the armrests and a fixed vertical height. Such chairs have not, therefore, been readily adaptable to different users.
Various proposals have been made to provide vertical height adjustment for the armrests as well as lateral or width-wise adjustment of the armrests. An example of a laterally adjustable armrest for a chair may be found in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,863 entitled LATERALLY ADJUSTABLE ARMRESTS FOR A CHAIR, which issued on Oct. 15, 1991 to DeKraker et al. A vertical adjustment mechanism may be found in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,995 entitled ARM HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT MECHANISM FOR A CHAIR, which issued on Aug. 28, 1990 to Teppo et al.
A need exists for a chair and armrest assembly which is adapted for vertical height adjustment, which permits wide latitude in lateral positioning of the armrest, which is relatively easily manufactured, which is reliable in operation and which provides a wide variety of adjustable positions for the user.